Péché Mortel | Brasserie Dieu du Ciel!

Notes / Commercial Description:
Péché Mortel (French for "Mortal Sin") is an intensely black and dense beer with very pronounced roasted flavours. Fair trade coffee is infused during the brewing process, intensifying the bitterness of the beer and giving it a powerful coffee taste. Péché mortel is brewed to be savored; we invite you to drink it in moderation.

This stout style, high in alcohol and bitterness in order to favour preservation, was historically brewed to support the long and arduous voyage necessary to export the beer from England to Russia. The word Imperial comes from the fact that the beer was specially brewed for the Russian tsar’s court.

A: Deep black with khaki head. Excellent head retentention and lacing.
S: Espresso dominates. Smoked fudge and cream.
T: Espresso, dark roasted malts. Char. Smoke. Biscuit. A roast-forward stout without sweetness.
M: Creamy, silky, above-average viscosity.
O: This is my first time trying this beer, and it was already 7 months old when I purchased it. It tasted great and ages gracefully, but I would like to find a fresher example.

Dark as death with a tan head. Aroma is coffee and chocolate, as is is the taste, though there's a good deal of roastiness as well. Feel is medium. A bit thin for an imperial stout. Definitely a very good beer but based on reputation I expected more.

All that its cranked up to be - nice coffee taste , but not as strong as Founders Breakfast stout. Some hints of fruit and chocolate. Hides the 9.5% very well. Dark, smooth tasting, nice lacing of the glass. Had it on tap in Montreal. Served in a tulip glass, poured with nitro. An excellent Imperial Stout. Not sure that it 'opens up' as nicely as it should when it sits. I may need to try some more. Very drinkable!

Black, black, black is the color of this brew. Opaque, inky, oily, black. The head is tan and restrained but solid and gives way swiftly to foam and lace. This is a fabulous imperial stout.

Bitter chocolate and strong bitter coffee (as in espresso) notes hit the nose immediately in equal measure, though the coffee comes just behind and is the lasting aromatic impression. Toasted, just this side of burnt malt notes independent of the coffee/chocolate come through with just a hint of booze in the background. And there is a ton of the aromas that are there.

After the bitter presentation of the aroma, the flavor is an unexpected revelation. The espresso aroma belies a somewhat rounder dark-roast java note mixed with chocolate again, but only slight bitter notes. Brownie-batter mixed with semi-sweet chocolate nibs join the party. Licorice root and molasses that weren't evidenced in the nose are ample in the flavor; and the booze is there to warm everything up. As the brew warms, hints of darker fruit (cherry?) and hop bitterness arrive. There are many things going on here, and they are all fantastic.

The mouthfeel is very thick, and nearly "sticky" and "heavy," and yet it never quite tips over that line. There is just enough bitterness, just enough booziness, just enough hop, and just enough char to keep things solid. If there had been just a touch more carbonation, this would have been stupendous.

Overall, a deceptively drinkable heavy-hitter imperial that keeps the drinker guessing and experiencing throughout. A must try if you haven't.